


how having a crush on your friend doesn't have to suck so bad

by urfriendlyneighborhoodpan



Category: Bleach
Genre: Drabbles, F/M, various - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-02 04:26:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6550909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/urfriendlyneighborhoodpan/pseuds/urfriendlyneighborhoodpan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompts given to me by tumblr that center around their feelings for each other and how they deal with them under specific circumstances.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: “The moment Ichigo finds out Orihime works at a bakery he comes in by himself to visit her while she works…”

It wasn’t until he didn’t see her that he realized he’d been specifically seeking her out in the first place, and he had to wonder how often he had done it to begin with. His eyes had searched the crowds of students making their way out of school, frowning when he didn’t immediately find her with her usual group of friends. He found himself slowing, craning his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of her vibrant hair. He turned full circle, a quiet panic starting at his gut.

“Looking for Orihime?” Tatsuki suddenly appeared before him, arms folded.

“Y—uh, no, why would I be? I see her every day in class, why would I be looking for her now, I don't—I’m gonna go—”

“She has a job now,” Tatsuki called out as he tried to casually stride away. The corner of her lips curved upward when he spun around too quickly. “Her shift starts right after school, so.”

“That’s great!” he exclaimed, and then hastily tried to reel in his outburst by clearing his throat. “That’s really good, I’m happy for her.”

“Do you wanna know where?”

“I do, yes.”

.x.

He tried very hard not to draw attention to himself, but the bell above the door chimed all too loudly and it made him flinch.

It was a quaint shop, a couple of tables set up off to the side and a simple counter with a display window the only things occupying any space. The walls had been painted a sunny yellow and there was a tall wooden rack behind the counter lined with fresh bread. There was one other customer there, an elderly lady with graying hair, and she looked to be finishing up her business.

On the other side of the counter, Orihime was boxing up what looked to be a small cake.

He nearly backed out of the bakery, content now that he had seen her, but her eyes flickered up at the last second and froze him in his place. They brightened, color surfacing on her cheeks, and an elated smile lifted the edges of her lips. It soothed his nerves just a little.

He stepped aside politely as the elderly woman shuffled out, rubbing the back of his head as he approached the counter.

“Kurosaki-kun!” she greeted, smile widening. “What a coincidence!”

It wasn’t. But he was suddenly doubting himself for some reason. Was it weird for him to have gone out of his way like this just to see her? He didn’t particularly have anywhere to be, but his house was across town and there was no way he could simply brush this off with a, “I was just passing by” or, “I was in the neighborhood.”

“Are you a regular? I just started working here today.”

“Ah—no, I’m not really… I don’t really come here.” He never has. Not once in his life.

“Oh?” She blinked. “Are you here to buy some bread? Or maybe cupcakes? I made a good batch earlier and I saved a few for myself, but if you’d like to take some home for your sisters, I’d be happy to give up a few.”

That in itself would have been a good excuse. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary at all if he’d decided to bring home some treats for his baby sisters. But as it were, he hadn’t a penny on him. Regardless, he patted his pockets as if money had magically appeared inside of them.

“I don’t have any…” he trailed off, catching the furrowing of her brow.

“You could have them for free. I didn’t put them up on display, so they’re not really for sale.” When he refused a second time, a perplexed look crossed her face. “Then…why are you here?”

Too many seconds passed in silence, and just when he was about to come up with a different excuse, she clapped her hands over her mouth.

“N – Not that I don’t want you here, of course! It’s actually really nice to see you, I’m glad you came at all, but I didn’t want to assume that you were just here to—”

“I wanted to see you,” he got out, avoiding her eyes. “Tatsuki told me you were working here and I just wanted to…stop by, I guess.”

When he finally worked up the nerve to look at her again, an absolutely touched expression had taken up her face and it made his heart jump. “That’s so thoughtful of you,” she breathed, holding a hand over her chest.

“I… Not really,” he muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring at his feet. “I didn’t bring you any food or anything.” Which he was starting to regret intensely, now that he knew how positive her response was.

“That’s okay!” she reassured. “I don’t get my break for another hour, so I’ll just—”

“Wanna—” he blurted before he could think it through, and realized he would have to finish his thought for the sake of courtesy. “Wanna…have a bite…together?”  

Again, her cheeks colored prettily, but an unmistakably pleased smile touched her lips. “I… I’d love to.”

“Alright,” he said, turning on his heel to hide the burning on his face. “I’ll, uh…see you later.”

“Thanks for dropping by,” she called after him.

“Any time,” he said at the entrance, staring at the bell above the door. “What did you wanna get, by the way?”

“Oh, anything’s fine! I’m not very picky.”

He recalled the last time he had seen one of her home cooked meals. “We’ll figure it out later, then.”

He stepped out, waved over his shoulder, and quickly made his way back to the other side of town, heart pounding every step of the way.

.x.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Dancing by the moonlight."

“I’m hardly dressed for this,” she protested, hands smoothing down her old sweats nervously.

Laundry day would be tomorrow, and she had understandably run out of clothes to wear. Her most presentable clothing had also been the most practical for the cold weather. She had briefly lamented not having a better selection to choose from when he had called her asking if she wanted to meet up at the park. The pink sweater with the kitten printed on the chest, the sweats with the word _cutie_ across the butt, and a pair of snow boots was hardly what she wanted to be wearing when her crush asked to hang out. But they had been friends long enough she knew he would hardly lift a brow when he saw her, and if she’d shown up wearing a party dress—one of the only other things clean in her closet—it might have garnered more than just a questioning look.

Indeed, when she had found him waiting outside her apartment with a reasonable, “Didn’t think it’d be safe for you to be out in the dark all alone,” to greet her with, he hardly cast a glance at her ridiculous outfit. She had almost groaned and slunk back into her apartment when she saw he was wearing those nice black jeans and hooded jacket, how absolutely and effortlessly handsome he looked. She had tugged her sleeves down and fretted over her hair until he glanced back at her, wondering why she was walking so slow.

When, after nearly half an hour of friendly conversation walking around the park, he asked if she wanted to dance, her thoughts went immediately to her state of dress rather than the more sensible bewilderment over why he wanted to in the first place. There was no music, it was all but silent save for the chirping of crickets in the darkness, and with only the moonlight and a few scattered streetlamps to guide them, it was almost hardly the atmosphere for two friends.

If she hadn’t known any better, it almost felt fit for a couple.

He held out his hand, arm stiff and shoulders hunched and eyes cast down at his feet. His other hand was stuffed in his pocket and his mouth was set in an odd frown. “You look fine,” he muttered. “It’s cold out anyway, if you’d worn a skirt or something your legs would get cold and—you know, that would suck.”

She felt a simultaneous drop in her stomach and a flutter in her chest knowing he had noticed her outfit after all. How thoughtful, but also embarrassing.

She floundered, hands fluttering in the air as she looked from his face to his hand and back again. “I—I don’t know, would it be weird?”

“Do _you_ think it’s weird? We don’t have to, if you don't—it is weird, isn’t it? Sorry, forget I said any—” As he began to drop his hand, she quickly placed hers on it, arm equally as stiff and palm clammy.

“I do wanna dance—with you—it’s not weird, at least I don’t…think so…” She swallowed hard, avoided his gaze. “I do wanna dance.”

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” he mumbled, but his hand, surprisingly warm, wrapped around hers. “What do we even dance to?”

“It’s not,” she insisted, and reached her other hand out to place on his shoulder. “A waltz? I can hum a song, if you want…?”

“If it sets the mood,” he smiled, placing his hand on her waist.

She tried not to analyze that too deeply. “Follow my lead,” she said, looking down at their feet. She stepped back, and he followed almost too quick. Another step, another too quick.

“I have no rhythm,” he apologized, straightening, eyes trained too hard on their feet.

“I don’t believe that,” she said, recalling every time she’d watched him swinging a sword, the awe she’d felt at his grace, the fluidity of his every movement. This was, of course, nothing at all like any battle he’d been in. The hard look on his face during fights always melted back to boyish softness at the end of each one, and the look on his face now was all teenage boy and curiosity, nervousness mixed with determination mixed with self-consciousness. This was a facet of him, just like the fight in him.

How it could all be the same boy, she could hardly comprehend. But it was all him.

“I don’t believe that,” she repeated, more firmly. “We’ll take this slow, just follow my lead.”

Every step too close atop her feet made his hand curl hard into her shirt, the palm pressed against hers grow more and more slick with sweat. When at last the toes of his shoes pinched hers, a curse hissed its way from between his teeth and a string of apologies spilled from his mouth.

They cut off when she laughed, so softly, and shook her head. “I guess I should hum that song, it might help you get your rhythm.”

“Should we stop?” he asked, face taut with worry. “Did I hurt you? Maybe we should stop.”

“I’m just fine,” she assured, and mimicked him when he quickly pulled his hand away to wipe the sweat on his jeans. “Practice makes perfect. You’re doing fine, let’s keep going.”

The song she chose was slow, a lullaby any child would know. The improvement was immediate, their pace settling for sway as his mind mapped out every dip and rise of the tune. She did not notice how close they had drawn together until his cheek was brushing her hair and the distinct scent of clean skin and dry spice and something entirely _him_ filled her senses. The hand on his waist had become arm, wrapped gently about her, and the fingers of his other hand were all but laced with hers.

He had begun to hum along.

Her world swayed, every nerve ending zapping and unfurling and shooting tingles up and down her spine, shooting from the crown of her head to the toes of her feet—it took every ounce of her strength not to drift into his chest and close her eyes and let herself be swept up by the moment.

When he realized she had stopped humming, he asked, “Are you okay?” His voice was low, so warm, fitting the intimacy of the moment so perfectly it almost made her shiver.

“Just fine,” she said shakily, fingers curling into the sleeve of his shirt.

They had stopped dancing, and it made everything too real. The realization of just how close they were standing, how all of this would look viewed from outside their little bubble, and the sudden recollection that they were _only friends_ dawned on the both of them at the same time and they snapped apart.

Orihime caught sight of the red on his face and tried not to mistake it for the same feelings spiraling within her. She tucked her hair behind her ear and bowed her head. “I’m sorry,” she was quick to say.

“ _I’m_ sorry,” he muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets and kicking up dirt. “That was out of line, I shouldn’t have done that.”

Heart pounding, she pushed away the hurt she felt thinking he was ashamed of having been in that position with _her_. “It’s okay,” she said. “It was fun dancing with you. Maybe…if you wanted, and we don’t have to, really… But, maybe we can do it next time with actual music? The song I chose was kinda silly.”

His brow furrowed. “I didn’t think it was… But, uh. Yeah, I—I had fun, too—I mean, aside from…aside from what I did, I shouldn’t have done that, I made it weird.”

“I did it, too,” she insisted, waving her hands to appease the situation. “And it's—it’s perfectly fine. You don’t smell or anything, you know.” She was immediately embarrassed for saying that.

“You don’t either,” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. “How ‘bout I…walk you back home now?”

On the way back, she gathered the courage to bump her shoulder against his side and smiled up at him. “You were so good at dancing we forgot ourselves,” she said, hoping he would not take it the wrong way. Or, perhaps, hoping he would.

The corner of his lips came up, and the look in his eyes made her breath catch. “You’re exaggerating. It must have been your singing.”

“You were singing, too!”

“You were so good at singing I forgot myself.”

She burst into laughter, and the weight between them lifted immediately.

When their hands brushed, they both pretended not to notice.

.x.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Dipping feet in cold water."

“Inoue?” a terribly familiar voice spoke up from behind her.

She whirled around, heart shooting up to her throat, and thanked whatever deity dared listen she had not made it to her ultimate destination.

That same morning, she had been sitting on her bathroom floor rummaging through a wooden basket she kept under the sink. Every month, she made sure to restock her… _feminine products_ in the unlikely event she ran out. She had never once fallen behind in this endeavor, but ever since she had decided to start bringing one every day for the sake of helping out her fellow classmates suffering the same plight she found she had, understandably, begun to run out much, much faster. She had reminded herself continuously on her way to school to buy more, but work had gotten demanding and it often slipped her mind completely. This led to the inevitable state she was in now, left to her very last one and caught off guard by a surprise attack led by her own body.

Certainly, the only proper course of action she could take would be to pull on her darkest pair of pants and a loose jacket and head down to the nearest convenience store to take care of the issue. She had been paid the day before and was taking the weekend off, which gave her ample time to recuperate at home for the next couple of days. A short list of snacks, drinks, and manga to be bought later and she was, as cheerfully as she could manage, making her way out into the hot weather and pretending she wasn’t getting a bunch of weird looks for her outfit choice. No part of her had intended on bumping into anyone, just as no part of her had intended on spending her weekend anywhere else but in her apartment.

As fate would have it, she happened to bump into the last person she wanted to see during these more delicate times, and he just so happened to have plans for the weekend.

Of course, he wanted to invite her along, too.

The basket tucked at her arm was brimming with bags of chips, candy, juice, and the newest volume of her favorite series. She struggled with the urge to hide it behind her and keep her cool, giving a wobbly, “I’d love to!” in response to his offer.

His brow furrowed, eyes flicking from her flushed face to her basket and then back. Understanding lit up his gaze and he smiled apologetically. “You don’t have to come if you already have plans, Inoue.”

“I don’t have plans,” she assured, waving him off and hoping he couldn’t notice the extent of her discomfort. “You said everyone’s going, right? I wouldn’t wanna miss that!”

Truthfully, it had been some time since they had all been together under normal circumstances, and the thought of not being a part of that made her chest hurt. She didn’t know when the next opportunity would come for another get together like this one. Even if her entire body protested the very thought of spending another minute outside, her very heart ached with longing.

“They are, but, we can hang out some other time,” he replied, and nodded to her basket. “You wanna stay in, don’t you?”

“I was actually gonna pig out this weekend, but this way I can avoid that! Besides, I haven’t been hiking in a really long time and…it’d be really fun to do it with friends.”

He smiled again. “Alright, Inoue. We’re heading out tomorrow morning. I’ll come by and get you.”

“Sounds good,” she chirped, and then inched backward, stopped, and cleared her throat. “I’m gonna finish my shopping now, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Oh,” he said, “I could help, if you’d like. Carry some bags or something?”

Alarm shot through her. “I – It’s fine! I won’t be carrying too much anyway, and I’m almost done!”

“Are you sure? I could—” His phone began to vibrate from his pocket and he apologized before answering. His tone became concerned, and he apologized to her a second time, “I need to get going, Yuzu wants me to help her cook tonight.”

It was then she noticed he was carrying a basket of his own, although with much healthier items. “That’s fine! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

A breath of relief left her when he finally disappeared down the aisle toward the cash registers. The bigger issue hung over her head now, as she turned heel and continued toward her intended aisle. The trail he had mentioned wasn’t a long one, but she knew where it led. It was obvious the purpose of the hike was the lake, and with the hot weather it was the perfect time to go swimming. Any other time, she would have embraced this completely, but now it made her squeamish. She would have to make up excuses of being sick to her male friends, and endure a short lecture from Tatsuki.

The worst part, she knew, was how very likely it would make Ichigo feel guilty for asking her in the first place. He would definitely insist on sticking to her side the entire time, perhaps even miss out on swimming in order to keep her company.

She wondered if she was making the wrong choice here.

.x.

Thankfully the pain in her abdomen was manageable the next morning, and before locking up her apartment completely, she took a couple pain pills for safe measure. Steeling her nerves, she pocketed her keys and made her way toward the stairs, stiffening when she found him making his way up them.

“Oh, hey, morning,” he said, pausing midway. “I was coming up to get you. Everyone’s heading toward the train station.”

.x.

Before boarding the train, she excused herself for the restroom.

The ride there was rather short, and with all of their friends chattering away in excitement the time seemed to pass all too quickly. She was unsurprised when she excused herself for the restroom again once arriving and Tatsuki trailed after her, even less so when her friend stood with folded arms by the sink when she finished.

“You should be in bed,” Tatsuki said, all too aware of how Orihime became during her monthly cycles.

Orihime fidgeted, washed her hands, and sighed, “I didn’t wanna miss out.”

Tatsuki’s faced softened and she gently squeezed Orihime’s shoulder. “You should’ve told me. I’ll keep an eye out for you.”

“What do I tell the others? Everyone’s gonna swim, right?”

“That was pretty much the plan,” Tatsuki said. “I’ll stay with you, that way it looks normal.”

Orihime shook her head. “I want you to have fun, too.”

“I’m not gonna have fun if my best friend isn’t.”

.x.

With the dull pain in her middle, the hike seemed to take much longer than it had the last time she had done it. But, true to her word, Tatsuki stayed right at her side the whole way there, quietly encouraging her and warding away any curious comments made with a simple, “She likes the scenery. You miss a lot of stuff if you walk too fast.”

And so the group ended up taking their time, too, stopping every so often to take photos of birds or flowers or inspect a collection of fungi on the ground. When they finally made it to the lake, the sun was blaring at full blast and everyone was more than ready to take a dip.

Tatsuki found them a nice rock to sit on nearby, where they could watch the rest splash around in the water. Keigo was, of course, the first to strip down and leap into the lake, resurfacing with a shriek of how cold it was. The others waded in with much more cautiousness.

When Tatsuki couldn’t hide the wistful smile on her face, Orihime was filled with intense remorse.

“I’m fine here alone, you should go join them,” she insisted, to which Tatsuki shook her head stubbornly.

“I’m not leaving you alone.”

“This was bound to happen at some point,” Orihime rationalized, patting the back of Tatsuki’s hand. “Besides, you being here won’t make me feel any better. I’ll just keep feeling bad.”

Tatsuki sighed, relenting. “I know.” A smile, and she nudged an elbow against her. “Watch me scare Asano.” In a single move, she was standing and tugging her shirt over her head and kicking off her shorts. Once she was past the initial shock of the freezing water, she sank under the surface and out of sight. Not a second later, Keigo yelped and sprang up in the air, and Tatsuki was cackling in the spot he once was.

Orihime joined in on the laughter, carefully reaching out to pluck Tatsuki’s clothes from the ground to fold them over her backpack. Watching them, however much it made her want to curse her body again, was as enjoyable as she had hoped. Sado, predictably, enjoyed floating on his back and staring up at the sky, and occasionally smiled away any apologies whenever someone bumped into him. Tatsuki liked to swim under the surface, popping up at random intervals to surprise anyone in her way. A game of Marco-polo had ensued, and Ishida was surprisingly good at guessing people’s locations based on just their voices.

She had unconsciously begun to seek out Ichigo, eyes flicking back to him every couple of minutes. He switched tasks consistently; joined Sado watching the sky, raced Tatsuki across the lake, bantered lightly with Keigo, even spaced out in the middle of the lake staring at his hands as they moved through the water sluggishly. At one point, his brow furrowed, gaze moving over all their friends before finally finding her eyes.

Before she could smile reassuringly, he began to wade over to her. First his shoulders, then his arms and chest, then his abdomen surfaced from the water; slipping and slipping over him as he walked onto the bank and toward her rock. Immediately, his skin was scattered with goosebumps, shorts clinging so tight to him she had to tear her gaze away to preserve his modesty.

It was bad enough he was half naked in the first place.

“Tatsuki told me you weren’t feeling so good,” he said, wiping the hair from his forehead. “Is there anything I can do?”

“I’m fine,” she assured, holding up her hands. “I just don’t wanna risk getting any sicker by getting in the water.”

He made his way around the pebbles and took a seat next to her, careful not to get her wet. “You should’ve told me, we all could’ve gone some other time.”

She wrung her fingers. “We don’t get moments like these a lot. We can never be sure when we’ll get them again, so…I wanted to make the most of it even if I couldn’t really take part in it.”

“We could’ve just had a movie night. Gone to your place or maybe mine and just relax, kinda like you were planning to—man, I should’ve realized it then, you had all the makings for it. You were just trying to rest this weekend and I took that from you.”

“No,” she insisted, knowing this was exactly where things were going to go. He was such a thoughtful person, he tore himself up over other people’s problems. “I mean, I was. But, I wanted to be with you—all of you, this weekend. I didn’t want such a little thing to stop me.”

“Little thing? You don’t have a fever, do you?” Before she could respond, he placed the back of his cool hand against her forehead, and then her cheek.

“No, it’s…” She faltered, fingers wrapped around his wrist, struggling with what to say. He didn’t need to know the specifics exactly, but naming any random sickness wouldn’t work on him. He knew them all by heart, no doubt, and all the symptoms that came with them. “It’s not that bad, I just don’t wanna risk it.”

He dropped his hand, skeptical, but thankfully decided to drop the subject. “Could’ve sworn Tatsuki would’ve stayed with you.”

“She wanted to, but…I didn’t want her to miss out, too.”

Ichigo watched Tatsuki for a moment, sitting on Sado’s shoulders in a game of chicken against Ishida, and smiled. “I’ll stay with you, then. I think I’ve had enough for today.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Orihime fidgeted, chancing a glance at his still wet form. “Aren’t you cold?”

“I’ll survive,” he shrugged, looking down at her feet for a minute before saying, “I know it’s selfish of me to ask, but how bad is it? What you’re feeling? How far can you push yourself?”

Completely uncertain of what he meant, she said, “I took some pain pills, so nothing really hurts. When we get back to the station I’ll have to check if I'm—if I have enough medication to get better.”

He nodded. “Could you put your feet in the water?”

She blinked. The answer was undoubtedly _no_ , not with how unstable her temperature could be. If the water was as cold as the rest had implied, the pain killers she’d taken earlier would become completely pointless. But watching the others have fun could only be so enjoyable from afar, and at least she would know how pleasant the water felt in this blistering heat.

She offered Ichigo a smile, waited until he was a few steps ahead of her to rise very cautiously, assess herself, and follow after. He helped her undo her laces and pull off her boots, stuff her socks into one and set them aside. She cuffed her jeans toward her knees and plopped herself down beside him.

The water was even more freezing than she could have imagined, even Ichigo shivered to be reunited with it. And although she could already feel her abdomen clench, her lower back ache, there was something so fulfilling about being able to join her friends, however small it was, in their fun. Sado even sent her a lazy smile as he floated by.

“I’m really glad to be here,” she shared with Ichigo, tucking her fingers under her legs. He returned her smile, leaning back on his hands.

“I can stop by tomorrow with some more medicine, if you want,” he said.

“Some heating pads would do just fine,” she replied carefully, keeping her eyes on Tatsuki as she piled a few flat pebbles on Sado’s chest.

He was silent for a few minutes, humming in assent, before his brow furrowed and his lips pulled into a frown. Something seemed to occur to him, realization dawning on his face just before it tinged slightly with red. She couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or shyness, but he suddenly couldn’t look her in the eye anymore. “Inoue, you could’ve just told me you were… That you were having one of those… That—that you were on your…”

Her heart nearly stopped, catching onto his meaning. “I—I didn’t… I didn’t wanna freak you out—you know about that?”

“Of course I know about that, my sisters are _thirteen_ , they’ve already started theirs, and—and my dad has patients sometimes that need…” He rubbed a hand over his face. “It wouldn’t have freaked me out, it’s completely natural.”

Relief flooded her, despite the ever tightening of her nerves. “Oh, if I’d known you would’ve reacted like this… But, I would’ve still come, Kurosaki-kun. I still want to spend time with my friends.”

“If you’d told me, I could’ve had them change the plans so we could _stay in—_ ” He cut himself off, worry crossing his face. “This water is cold—Inoue, your feet.”

“It is pretty cold, but it’s nothing I can't—oh!” She suddenly found herself gathered up in his arms, hauled off the ground and quickly moved back to the rock. He knelt in front of her and used his discarded shirt to dry her feet.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” he asked, ears red.

“I grew up thinking it was a weird subject, especially for men,” she explained sheepishly, rubbing the heat from her cheeks. “I didn’t think your response would’ve been this kind.” She should have, now that she thought about it. He had a rather mature perspective, it should not have been a surprise at all that it extended this far. She wiggled her feet when he finally pulled away. “Thank you.”

“I’ll bring those heating pads tomorrow,” he murmured, tossing aside his shirt and sitting back down beside her. “And, uh. Don’t hesitate to ask for anything… And I mean…anytime you’re like this. Not just. Not just this time.”

“I couldn’t,” she breathed, taken aback.

“We’re friends. I’d be happy to help.”

She wiggled her feet again. “Thank you.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”

.x.

Again, she used the restroom both times they arrived at the stations. And again, Tatsuki followed her in to keep her company. But this time, Ichigo lingered outside and asked her, “You okay?” as she walked out both times.

He sat beside her on the train, and was quick to offer to walk her home once everyone went their separate ways. He insisted on the way to stop at a convenience store and buy her some more snacks, and then insisted on carrying everything.

“You don’t have to do this,” Orihime murmured, although every bone in her body sang with relief that he was. She was so tired from the day she wanted nothing more than to collapse on her bed wearing only her softest pajamas and sleep the rest of the night off.

“I got you into this mess in the first place,” Ichigo said.

He helped her put away the snacks in her kitchen, and reminded her he’d be back the next day to bring by anything else she needed.

“Like I said, I’m happy to help,” he replied when she fretted. “And I’m…really sorry I didn’t notice in the first place.”

“The fact that you didn’t means I’m doing something right,” she brushed off with a grin. “I had a good time today, despite everything.”

“I’m glad you did,” he sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Maybe next time…nobody will feel left out.”

“I didn’t feel left out, really,” she said. “Watching you guys have fun was fun, too.”

“I was actually hoping on racing you. Tatsuki told me you’re good at swimming.”

She laughed, flexed her arms. “I used to dream about doing it competitively.”

He cracked a smile. “What kept you from it?”

“I didn’t think I could handle all the publicity. I was afraid the fame would go to my head.”

“And what would you have done if it had?”

“Flee to another country and work as a humble grocery clerk until my past came to haunt me.”

That got a laugh out of him, too. “We’ll discuss this more tomorrow,” he said, finally stepping out of her apartment. “Get some rest.”

She watched him disappear down the stairs, bit back a smile, and wondered how she managed to deserve a person like him in her life.

.x.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last one, and it's my fave.

**Author's Note:**

> This will have three chapters, unless you guys just so happen to send me more prompts.


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